No recall election despite rumors

January 25, 2013

BLACKFOOT â€” Rumors of a recall election(s) have been circulating.
"There is not a hint of a recall election at this time," said Marlene Jensen, the County Clerk's Election Director.
"People need to go through a lot of steps for a recall election," she said.
First, they need to request and then submit a start-up petition, Jensen said. The county clerk's office must verify the signatures collected.
If verified, a "real" petition is then issued, she said. The number of signatures required in a recall election varies. If the trustee has not faced opposition in six years, signatures of 20 percent of the electors in the zone must be collected.
If the candidate faced opposition in the last election, signatures of 50 percent of the number of votes cast must be collected.
After the "real" petition is submitted to the clerk's office and the signatures are verified, the candidate is notified a recall has been filed against him or her. The trustee has five days in which to resign.
If he/she chooses not to resign, the clerk's office notifies the school board about the recall. The school board calls for an election and then notifies the clerk's office that orders the ballots printed.
"In the Idaho Code, there is no specific time frame designated for the school board to call for a recall election," said Jensen.
For an issue to appear on the March 12 ballot, information must be submitted to the County Clerk's office by 5 p.m. today. Information must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 22, to appear on the May 21 ballot.